Effects of an osteoarthritis self-management programme

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Gerontology
• Public Health

Background:

• Knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of functional loss in older adults.
• Self-management programs are recognized for enhancing arthritis self-efficacy and practical coping skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a self-management program for individuals with knee osteoarthritis.
• To assess improvements in self-efficacy, pain beliefs, and healthcare utilization.

Main Methods:

• A 4-week trial with 205 participants (114 intervention, 91 control) followed by an 8-week assessment.
• Outcome measures included arthritis self-efficacy, pain beliefs, unplanned medical consultations, pain days, and disability days.
• Statistical analysis employed the Mann-Whitney U-test and Friedman test.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in pain beliefs and pain days post-intervention.
• At 8-week follow-up, notable enhancements in arthritis self-efficacy (pain and symptoms subscales), pain beliefs, and reduced unplanned medical consultations were recorded.

Conclusions:

• The self-management program effectively enhanced arthritis self-efficacy and pain beliefs.
• The program demonstrated potential for reducing healthcare costs through decreased pain and disability days.
• Significant benefits for self-management were observed in a chronic disease population in Taiwan.